I wonder how this ties in with Trump pardoning and releasing Ross Ulbricht. Estimates are that feds seized from 144,336 to 224,667 bitcoin from Ross and/or Silk Road affiliates. 224,667 bitcoin is over $22 Billion at current value.

The American government seized a significant amount of Bitcoin from Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the Silk Road marketplace, though the exact total varies depending on the specific seizures and how they are accounted for over time. Initially, in October 2013, following Ulbricht's arrest, the FBI seized approximately 144,336 Bitcoins directly from his computer hardware, specifically a Bitcoin wallet found on his laptop. At the time, these were valued at around $28.5 million based on the exchange rate in 2013. This figure is widely documented as the primary seizure tied to Ulbricht himself.

Additionally, earlier in 2013, the FBI had seized about 29,655 Bitcoins from Silk Road accounts during the initial takedown of the site, bringing the total seized in connection with the Silk Road case at that point to approximately 173,991 Bitcoins. These initial seizures were worth over $33.6 million at the time.

Later, in November 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice seized an additional 50,676 Bitcoins, valued at over $3.36 billion at that time, from James Zhong, who had stolen them from Silk Road in 2012. While these were not taken directly from Ulbricht, they were part of the Silk Road ecosystem, and Ulbricht agreed in 2021 to relinquish any claim to them as part of a deal to offset his $183 million restitution debt. This brings the total Bitcoin associated with Ulbricht and Silk Road, either directly or indirectly seized, to over 224,667 Bitcoins across these events.

However, focusing strictly on what was seized directly from Ulbricht himself, the most consistently cited figure is the 144,336 Bitcoins from his personal wallet in 2013. The additional amounts either came from Silk Road’s broader operations or from subsequent related seizures, not all of which were in Ulbricht’s possession at the time of his arrest.

Thus, the American government seized approximately 144,336 Bitcoins directly from Ross Ulbricht in 2013. If you consider the broader Silk Road-related seizures tied to his case, the total rises to around 173,991 Bitcoins from the initial 2013 actions, with further amounts like the 50,676 Bitcoins recovered later from Zhong linked indirectly through legal agreements.